The party would legislate for pay equity in the private sector as well as the public, reinstate support for Fair Pay Agreements, and pay income support to people raising children or caring for elders. On retirement, it targets a KiwiSaver gap it puts at 25 percent between women and men, with four specific changes — including a State contribution to the KiwiSaver of unpaid carers, and continued employer contributions through maternity leave.
The argument is that work typically done by women, and particularly by Māori and Pasifika women, stays undervalued, producing both a sex-based pay gap and a sex and ethnicity gap. The proposals are a strong onus on employers, publication of average hourly pay statistics broken down by occupation, sex and ethnicity, and reinstated legislative support for Fair Pay Agreements — applied to private sector jobs as well as public.
The document records members’ concern at changes made to pay equity legislation under urgency in April 2025, putting the number of women whose claims were extinguished at an estimated 150,000, and says many of those claims will not be able to restart under the new regime. It backs the People’s Select Committee process examining the evidence for and against the changes.
Income support while raising children or caring for elders, on the stated basis that mothering and caring is work that contributes to society. Alongside it, the party backs the Child Poverty Action Group’s campaign to reform Working for Families so it reaches all lower income families, and singles out discrimination against beneficiary families — many headed by single mothers — for removal.
The causes given are low pay in typically female jobs, lower lifetime income, part-time work, career breaks to raise children, and disadvantage after relationship breakdowns. The document puts the resulting average KiwiSaver balance for women at 25 percent below men’s across all age groups, and describes the compounding effect of the pay gap as costing three or more years of retirement income — which it notes matters more because women tend to live longer.
The document identifies older women as the fastest-growing group living in poverty globally, and links low home ownership among older women to the same lifetime income pattern. Its proposals here are broader than specific: minimum wages and benefits lifted to living incomes, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, free financial advice available to women as needed, and work with the Office of Seniors on local and national solutions.
“In New Zealand, the average KiwiSaver balance for women is 25% lower than the average balance for men across all age groups.”
“The Women’s Rights Party advocates for income support while raising our children or caring for our elders, recognising that mothering and caring is work and contributes to society.”
“An estimated 150,000 women workers whose pay equity claims have been extinguished are now in limbo.”
“Globally, older women are the fastest-growing group living in poverty.”
Points the document defers or leaves undefined. These are gaps in the document, not criticisms of the policy.
Which party holds a published position on which topic.
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